IN WAKE OF JONES DISMISSAL, A NEW FOCUS FOR STARR
WASHINGTON, April 1 (Associated Press)--In the wake of the dismissal of the
Paula Jones sexual-harassment lawsuit, Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr is
focusing his investigation on allegations that President Clinton and members
of the White House staff regularly drink red wine with fish, according to
sources close to the investigation.
The latest allegations arise out of confidential results of tests performed
by the FBI Crime lab on a dress seized during a search of the Watergate
apartment of former White House intern Monica S. Lewinsky, the sources
added.
After weeks of conflicting reports about the test results, the sources
confirmed that they "definitely indicate" the presence of tannins
"consistent with full-bodied domestic red wines such as Merlot or
Zinfandel."
If confirmed, the results would contradict earlier White House reports that
any red wine consumed with fish by staffers was "a light Beaujolais
Nouveau," a wine some legal experts had considered acceptable with steakier
fish such as wasabi-crust charcoal-grilled yellow-fin tuna.
"Of course these are only allegations," Sen. John Ashcroft, R-Mo., said in
reaction to published reports about the course of Starr's investigation.
"They are, however, extremely serious. I suggest that the President tell the
American people the facts, and then step down and report to Allenwood
Penitentiary until the matter can be fully resolved with the inauguration of
a Republican president."
White House press secretary Mike McCurry refused comment on the
investigation, and privately White House staffers dismissed the possibility
that the new charges could lead to impeachment proceedings. Republican
staffers on Capitol Hill, however, insisted that the charges have the
potential to breathe new life into both the impeachment drive and the
independent counsel's flagging investigation.
"We're not talking about some cheesy savings & loan fraud here," one
Congressional veteran noted. "These charges go to the heart of our foreign
policy. Imagine what this will do to relations with Britain and France."
University of Illinois Law Professor Ronald Rotunda, a consultant to Starr's
office, said that the legal questions would focus on the appropriateness of
the specific varietal grape. In addition, he noted that the report of
tannins suggested that "the President has been drinking wine before its
time, a statutory offense in California." Rotunda added that the probe is
complicated by allegations of a cover-up. "What did the President drink and
when did he drink it? And why has the White House resisted disclosure for so
long?"
Starr's office had no official comment on the reports today. But sources
close to the prosecutor confirmed that he had subpoenaed White House wine
steward Jacques Clouzeau, ordering him to produce records of wines consumed
and corresponding menus.
Today's WASHINGTON POST reported that the White House has told the
prosecutor's office that some of the menus cannot be found. The missing
records apparently relate to wine consumed by the First Lady Hillary
Clinton.
